1. Real Weddings

Karen & Billy: A Formal Wedding in Houston, TX

After seven years of dating, Karen McCallister and Billy Thomas decided not to waste any more time being engaged. Instead, they planned a formal, clas

After seven years of dating, Karen McCallister and Billy Thomas decided not to waste any more time being engaged. Instead, they planned a formal, classic, Texas to-do over the next six months and pulled off a flower-filled celebration of love. The Bride Karen McCallister The Groom Billy Thomas The Date August 20 Karen McCallister, a nurse, and Billy Thomas, an armored-car operations manager, met twice before making a permanent connection. The first time, Billy approached her at a stoplight and the two flirted. “I was 16 and knew my parents would kill me for even considering dating a 20-year-old. I gave him the wrong number,” she explains. A few years later, Karen switched gyms and found herself attracted to a fellow member. When he approached her, she asked, “Do you have a friend who has a black Jeep?” Stunned, she revealed: “I’m the girl in the white Explorer!” “We both laughed our heads off, and figure it was fate that we met twice,” says Karen, now 25. The pair dated through college, and one night, some seven years after their first date, Billy (now 29) proposed with a ring made with a diamond left to Karen by her grandmother.

The Programs
The four-tiered cake alternated between hexagonal and round layers and featured a different decorating effect on each tier. The white cake had strawberry and raspberry filling.
Wanting her attendants to look more “evening” than “bridal,” Karen outfitted them in Tiffany blue chiffon empire-waist gowns. After that, coordination fell away. “Be serious—do they really all have to have the same shoes, the same hair, the same jewelry? Aren’t matching dresses enough?” she asks. “All of our shoes were off at the reception anyway!”
The First Dance
The Flower Girl
The Exit
“The yellow calla lilies and amazing lilies looked beautiful against the bridesmaids’ dresses,” says Karen, whose own bouquet held the same, but with larger, white lilies.
Another unique floral creation was a four-tier wedding cake made out of flowers. “We had little blue cards and pearl-top pins, and instead of signing a guest book, people wrote us advice and pinned it on top of the cake,” Karen says.
With an original palette of blue with peach and orange accents in mind, Karen was so impressed by her florists’ offerings and abilities that she eventually changed over to yellow accents.
Drowned yellow orchids and floating candles served as centerpieces at Karen and Billy's reception.
The Music